Ferry-landing machinery.



A. T. PRBSCOTT.

FERRY LANDING MACHINERY.

PPLIGATION FILED SBPT.29, 1909.

Patented Mar. 7, 1911.

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' INVENTOR BY 't ATT RNEYS A. T. PRESCOTT.

PERRY LANDING MACHINERY.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1909.

Patnted Mar. 7, 1911.

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WITNESSES' A; I PRBSGOTT. FERRY LANDING MACHINERY.. APPLICATION FILLED SEPT. 29, 1909.

Patented Mar. 7, 1911.

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A. T. PRESGOTT. FERRY LANDING MACHINERY.

APLIGATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1909.

A. T. PRESOTT.

FERRY LANDING MACHINERY.

. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29. 1909.

Patented Mar. '7, 1911.

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wnNEssEs gangways by suitable sus ension means with the same operatlng' sha t, through drums,

-Essex, and State of `tance from its water end, and travels up and down as the tide rises and falls, or as bridge, and are commonly provided with a'n ple, inexpensive, and practical means for in- 'surlng a proper proportionate -movement ARTHUR T. PRESCOTT, OF EAST ORANGE.

NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE H.

FR-OTHINGHAM CO.. A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK. l

FERRY-LANDING BIACHINERY.

Specification of Letters Patent. i Paf-01) ted h'la 1'. 7, Il 911.

Application filed September 23. 1909. Serial No. 520,075.

To all 'whom it 'may concern.: l

a citizen of the United States of America, anda resident of East- Orange, county of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improveerence being had to the accompanying dra wings, forming a part thereof.

y invention relates to terry landing machinery, and particularly to operating means for the upper gangways of doulile-decked ferry landings.

The lower bridge of a ferry landing, usually of very considerable length and weight, is generally. pivoted at a considerable disthe varying heights of the different boats make necessary. This movement is effected sometimes by means of a pontoon floating in the water under the bridge, and sometimes by means of overhead chains or screws, supported in a gallows frame, and raised or lowered by means of counterweights or by hand, or by electric power, or by a combination of these means. It is common practice to place over this main bridge one or more gangways to connect with the upper deck of the ferryboat. These gangways are usually much lighter and shorter than thc lower,

apron pivoted to the outer end, and which makes the final connection to'the boat. 0n account of this apron the upper gangavay itself does not generally rcst upon the boat when in use, but is supported entirely by chains or rods to the gallows trame. From the employment of this apron, and because also of the shorter length of thc upper gangways, the suspension point may not move as fast or as far as the suspension point ot the lower or main bridge; and one of the objects of 'this -invention is to provide a simbetween the main landing bridge and the upper gangways. I attain this object by connectingl the main bridge and the upper 'f bri d ge gearing, or the. like, properly proportioned' to impartthe required relative speeds of movement.

My invention also consists in many novel features of construction and combinations of parts such as will be fully pointed out hereinattcr.

Tn order that my invention may he clearly, understood, I will now proceed to describe certain embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the accompanying' drawings, and will then point out the novel features in claims.

ln the drawings.: Figure l is a front view of a double-decker l ferry land ing, constructed in accordance wil. i my invention. Fig. 2 is a view in central longitudinal section therethrough, showing also in side elevation a ferryboat in coperative engagement therewith. Fig. 3 is a top view of the operating mechanism. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the relative movements of the main bridge and tl1enpper gangways. Figs. 5, 6, t, and 8 are detail views 1n sectional elevation of various forms of operating mechanism and safety devices also constructed in accordance with my invention, but constituting modifications of' the mechanisms shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Y Referring first to Figs. 1, 2, and 3,-1 designates the main ferry bridge and 11 the upper gangways, the ferry bridge and gangways being arranged to register respectively with the lower and upper decks 12 and 13 of the fcrryboats' 14. Both the main ferry and the upper gangways are arranged to swing upon suitable supports in the ferry house, the gangways A11 being shown as pivotcd at 15 at their rear ends to an overhead structure 1G, while the main bridge is provided at the rear end thereof with al rocking support 17 which may be of the usual or any desired character. The gang-ways 11` are provided with the usual swinging apron 1S at the front end thereof by which communication is established between the upper deck of the ferryboat and' the said gangways. The main operating shaft. 19, for determining the position of the main bridge, is suitably journaled in a gallows frame 20, the said operating shaft-being provided with winding drums 21 for, receiving the upper ends of chains 65, wire ropes, or the like, the lower ends of which are connected to the main bridge at points 22 near the forward end thereof; and the said shaft is also provided with drums 23 for receiving cords orphains 24. to the lower shaft 19 the connected thereto weights 25.

main bridge 10 may be raised and lowered at will. This manipulation may be brought about by *any suitable means-as by power applied direetlyor indirectly thereto, a conventional illustration of an electric motor. in geared relation with the shaft 19, beingg shown at GG in Fig. 3, for this purpose, or where a floating pontoon 20 is employed to support the forward end of the main bridge, as is eonnnon, the shaftmay` if desired, be operated in one direction by the weights 25Sv when the bridge is lifted b v the rising of the tide, and in the other direction by the weight of the bridge when the bridge falls owing to a falling of the tide. The shaft '19 is also provided with two sets of -drums 27 for receiving chains or cords 28 which lead over direction pulleys 29 to the forward ends of the gangways 1l, at points` 30. By this meansrotational movements of the shaft 19, corresponding to upward or downward movements of the main bridge 10, will cause the gangways 11 to be simultaneously moved in the same direction.

Because of the swinging aprons with which the upper gangways are provided and of the fact that the total length of the upper gang'ways is very -much shorter than the total length of the main bridge, the relation of the suspension points 30 and 22 of the upper .gangways and the main bridge respectively differ with respect to the rocking centers 15 vand 17 and thcpoints of connection with the upper and lower decks 13 and 12 of the boats 14, with the result that in order to uniformly raise and lower the extremities of the upper gangways and aprons and the main bridge, a variable movement must be given to the points of suspension, this variation being commonly in the ferry houses in use to-day about as 8 is to 11,-that is to say, the point of suspension 30 must move vertically through 8 units while the point of snspension 22 moves vertically through a distance of 11 units. To compensate for this I have proportioned the diameters of the drums 27 and 21 correspondingly, the drums 21 which are connected by theehains 65 to the main bridge being of larger diameter' than are the drums 27 which are connected by the chains 28 with the upper gaugways. By properly proportioning these drums I am enabled to exactly proportion the raising and lowering of the upper gangways and the main bridge to correctly position the e.\'-' tren'iities .thereof at varying heights. The diagrammatic view Fig. 4 illustrates clearly the proportionate movements of the upper' gangways and the main bridge For different levels of the ferryboat..

It will, of course, be understood that various modiicat-ions of this operatiirgl meel|al @le @sie end of which are attached countci'balancind" Ahisni may be resorted to within the scope of By proper manipulation of the my invention, and one such modification I have illustrated in Fig. 5 in which the main bridge l0 is lifted by meansI of a lifting screw 31 which is connected to a link, chain, or the like 32 which takes the place of the connecting element in the example shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3, the lifting screw being engaged by a nut 33 carried by a worm wheel 34 which is in turn operated by a worm 35 upon a shaft 36 in -geared relation with an electric motor 66. -The said eonnterbalancing means 67. The said counterbalancing means and the details of the operating means for the screw are not claimed specifically herein but form the sub- 'ect matter of Letters Patent No. 960,701 granted to me on the 7th day of June, 1910, and to which reference is made for a fuller description. The shaft 36 is also provided with a worm 37 which engages a worm wheel 3S upon a cro.,s shaft 39 the said shaft 39 being provided with a' worm 40which engages a worm wheel 4l upon a shaft 42 which carries drums 43 arranged to engage chains 44 connected to the upper gangways 11. In this arrangement the gearing is, of course, so proportioned as to impart the proper proportionate movementbetween the upper gangways and' the main bridge.

Because of the fact that the upper ganeheight from the main deck and main landing bridge, and of the fact that the upper gangways are, in the construction here shown, entirely supported by the 'suspension devices,-taking no suppol; from the upper deckof the ferryboatofwing to the swinging apron c0nnection,-it"follows that any failure of the suspension means 'might result in a serious accident, and' to obviate this I have provided a second set of suspension means which is adapted to come into play should any accident happen'to' the first set. In the and 3, I have shown 'a secondary shaft 45 provided with drains 40 for receiving secondary chains 4,7 which are. connected at their lower ends at the points 48 to the up per gangwa'ys ll, and for operating the shaft 49'. the worm being provided with a sprocket 'wheel 50 having adependent endless chain 5l which may be readily reached and operated by an attendant. .In practice this chain should he operated by hand to take up the excess slack in the chain 47 as-the gangway is raised by the main operating means and to free the connecting chain 47- to permit the main operating mechanism 'to `work to lower the bridge; or if preferred theat tendant may normally raise and lower the gangways by the employi'nent of this hand operated device, in advance of the movement ways are arranged at some considerabe construction shown in Figs. l, 2'

lifting screw 31 is shown as provided with a.

45 l have provided a worm and worm wheel las ' and lowering mechanism is provided, to be operates.

anism therefor. By this means the safety 'in proper engagen'ient therewith by weights .ing the gang planks, whereby if any acciof the main operatingr means, t-be excess slack t of the main chains 2S beingI constantly taken l up by the said main operating means, as it i Drums 52, carrying chains or l ropes 53 provided wit-h counterweights 34 may he conveniently provided upon the shaft j 45to counterbalance theweightof the gangwa'ys 11 so that under the latter method of 5 operation, a minimumof work will be iml posed upon the attendant.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a modified form of safety device in which a duplicate raising operated by the main operating means. This mechanism comprises a second worm n pon the shaft- 39, corresponding to the worm 40; a second shaft 56, corresponding to the shaft 42; a second worm wheel 5T upon the shaft 56, corresponding to the worm wheel 41 upon the shaft 42; a second set of drums 58 upon the shaft 56, corresponding to the drums 43; and a second set of chains 5!) connecting the drums 5S to the gangway 11, correspondingT to the chains 44. The chains 59 are preferably kept slightly slack under normal conditions so that the wear all comes on the first set of chains and operating mechdevices are maintained in a substantially unworn condition ready for immediate operation should the first set break. The slack should be only slight so that. they will come into operation with a minimum movement; of the gangways should the first set fail.

In Fig. 6 the chains 2S, instead of being.\ 27 upon the main wound around drums),

shaft', are caused to pass over sprocket wheels (30 of slntablc diameter thereon, being held (S1. The weights ($1 serve in this instante also-to counterbalance the weight 'of the gangways. 'lhe safety or secondary chains 47, wound around drmns 46 upon the shaft 45, may be employed, as in the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

In Fig. 7 I have shown the shaft 45 as driven from the shaft 19 b v a sprocket and chain connection 62. the speed of drive being properly proportioned to give the required speed of movement of the chains 47 with respect to the chains Q4. approximately simila r of course to the speed of movement of the chains 28.

The example of my invention illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, and 7 aref similar, in that they are each provided with two sets of operating means, independently driven from the main driving shaft. 1S), for raising and lowerdent happens to one set the other setwith come into play. The chains of one setin' each of the constructions ot Figs. (i4 and 7r may be leftcslightly slack as described in. connection with the modification shown in Eier. 5 and for the same uriose.

ln Fig. S l have showna etmstruetion wherein the ordinary safety chains (13 are employed, the ehaiJlS bieingmade in two parts, one of which is provided with a hook (i4 which may be connected and disconnected b v hand. with or from different links of the other part, as the gang planks ascend amt descend. This form is similar to the form shown in Figs. 1, 2. and 3. in that it provides a means operated from the main shaft- 1S) t`or raising and lowering the gang planks at the proper proportionate speed with respect to the movements of the main bridge, and manually operated safety means'. b ut differs therefrom in that while the safety chain device in Figs. 1, 3,and 3 may be actually used to raise and lower thegang'planks, the device of Fig. Scan only be used as a purely safety device to catch and hold the gang planks should an accident happen to the operating means. In this connection it may be noted that while I have referred to the chains and 44, and their operating mechanism, throughout the specification. as

the main operating `means for the gang planks, und the chains 47 and 5t) with their operating means, as the secondary or safety means. such expressions are purely arbitrary and are employed only for the. purposes of clarifying the description; obviously either of the' mechanisms may in cach case be termed, and indeed be employed as, the main operating mechanism, and the other as the sceondanv or safety means.`

'hile I have. described my invention tin-oughont the specification, and illustrated it `in the drawings, as applied to ferry landings, it will. of course, be understood'thatI itmay equally be en-iployed in connection with double-decked transfer-lnidges generally, and that the term ferry bridge or "hunting" is employed as broadly descriptive of this class of devicesgenerally.

What I clain is:

1. In a landing the combination with a. main bridge pivotally supported at one end about a horizontal axis, and an overhead lsuspension means therefor connected to the said bridge at the t'ree end thereof, of an upper gangway also pivotally Supported about a horizontal axis, an imlependentoverhead suspension means for the said upper gangway connected thereto toward the free eml thereof, and operatingmeans for the two said suspension means for imparting predeterxnined proportionate. movements thereto whereby the said main bridge and upper gangway will be moved simultaneously, but through dili'crent distances at the points of connection thereof with their respective suspension means.

2. ln a landing the combination with a main bridge pivotally supported at one end about a horizontal axis, and an overhead suspenslon means tbcre'tor connected to the spective suspension means, the said operatmglmeans including connected rotatable drums upon which the upper ends of the said suspension means are wound, the peripheral speed of the drums for the two said -suspension means being different.

3. In a landing, the combination with a pivoted main bridge and a pivoted upper gangway, of separate suspension means therefor connected thereto at different relative points between their extremities, and

operating means for raising and lowering the bridge and gangway through their said suspension means, including means for compensating, for 'the varying movements required to cause the free extremities of the said bri'dOe and gangway to maintain their proper reative distance apart.

4."In`a landing the combination with a main'bridgepvotally supported at one end about a horizontal axis, and an overhead suspension means therefor connected to the said bridge toward the free endthereof, of

an upper gangway also pivotally supported Y about a horizontal axis, an independent overhead suspension means for the said upper gangway connected thereto toward the freeend thereof, a common overhead operating sha-ftv for the simultaneous operationof the two said suspension means, and means between the said shaft and the two said suspension means, whereby the suspension means for the main bridge is operated faster than that of the upper gangway.

5. In a landing, the combination vwith a main bridge, au upper gangway, :rigallows frame, and means for suspensively and independently supporting the main bridget and the upper bridge from the gallows frame, of means included in the suspensive connections for causing the bridge and gangway to more different distances at their points of support.

`(i. In a landing, the combination with a main bridge, a. suspension means therefor, and a main bridge .shaft for operating the said suspension means, of `an upper gangway, a suspension means therefor, a gangway shaft for operating the said suspension means, and a connection between thesaid main bridge shaftand said gangway shaft causing the two said suspension means tobe operated at different speeds.

7. In a landing, the combination with a pivoted main bridge, a pivoted upper gangway, and a main operating shaft, of a drum on the main operating shaft, a flexible con? nection therefrom to the main bridge, a

counterbalancing weight conncctedwith the shaft tending to rotate the saidv shaftin a direction opposite to that in which it is operated when the main bridge falls, 1another drum on the main Shaft, and a flexible con-V nection therefrom to the upper gangway,

the latter' said drum being of a smaller diameter than the first said drum, the t'wo saidflexible connections being connected to the main bridge and upper gangway re'- spectively at` different relative points'between their extremities.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 15th dayof Se tember, 1909.

- ARTHUR T. P ESCOTT. iVitnesses:

D. E. DEUTSCH, HonATIo OKEEFE. 

